Penetrating a male bastion is always difficult, particularly when the domain is fraught with risk and malice. But two South African sisters have overcome the perceived barriers to scale high in their area of operation. Sisters are Mosibudi Jo Mathole and Khomotso Ramodipa and their business is diamonds, a genuinely male-dominated industry. Riding roughshod over a shrinking industry, the two sisters is in the process of re-writing a chapter on conventional wisdom about diamond industry and its high risk appeal. They are proving women not only know the art of wearing them elegantly but making them and much beyond that. Both the sisters had started off as investment bankers. A mid – term career switch brought them face to face with diamond industry. What that facilitated that switch of profession was passion to be a diamond entrepreneur. After qualifying as diamond valuators, in 2008 they started a cutting and polishing shop, Kwame Diamonds — the first and only one run by sisters in South Africa.
What made them tick?
Capital requirements, risks involved and peer pressure not to enter a male bastion were deterrents, however, strong willed people may be. But there is a way to overcome the difficulties, hard work apart. To minimize the risk, the sisters had chosen to sell only responsibly sourced, certified stones bought from mining companies operating in South Africa. Those stones were cut and polished. Now they have world renowned De Beers as client. That emboldened them to move in value chain. For instance, Forevermark diamond, which is only 1 percent of the world diamonds that are produced need special care and expertise to cut and polish that kind of diamond. The two sisters have perfected that task.
Both sisters look beyond business. They have a social commitment. That is empowerment of women and making them productive in the midst of a shrinkage being seen in the industry. That is not something unique to the South African diamond industry; it is happening globally. The two sisters are gearing up themselves to address this problem. They are demonstrating how the industry that helped many African countries to survive and created gainful employment to millions, directly or indirectly, to come out of the morass through innovation and use of technology. They approached the business differently, tried to change the business model and succeeded in creating a powerful brand. On the top of it, they tried to dovetail inclusivity and made several women productive and economically independent.
Let them be the trailblazers of the New Africa.
